Russia Denies Involvement in Iraq Weapons

AP ^ | 10/28/04 | VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV

[tomahawk]

Russia Denies Involvement in Iraq Weapons

1 hour, 46 minutes ago

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV, Associated Press Writer

MOSCOW - Russia angrily denied allegations Thursday that Russian forces had smuggled a cache of high explosives out of Iraq (news - web sites) prior to the U.S. invasion in March 2003.

Defense Ministry spokesman Vyacheslav Sedov dismissed the allegations as "absurd" and "ridiculous."

"I can state officially that the Russian Defense Ministry and its structures couldn't have been involved in the disappearance of the explosives, because all Russian military experts left Iraq when the international sanctions were introduced during the 1991 Gulf War (news - web sites)," he told The Associated Press.

The denial followed a story in The Washington Times on Thursday that quoted a high-ranking U.S. defense official alleging that Russian special forces had "almost certainly" helped spirit out the hundreds of tons of high explosives that went missing from the al-Qaqaa base. The newspaper based its report on an interview with John Shaw, the deputy U.S. undersecretary of defense for international technology security.

Two weeks ago, Iraqi officials told the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency that 377 tons of explosives had vanished as a result of "theft and looting ... due to lack of security." The compounds, HMX and RDX, are key components in plastic explosives, which insurgents in Iraq have used in bomb attacks.

Russia' charge d'affaires in Iraq, Ilya Morgunov, also denied the report.

"I didn't hear about any weapons to be taken out," Interfax quoted him as saying. "Moreover, there was nobody to take them out, because we actually evacuated all of our personnel."

He said there had been no Russian special forces in Iraq, only civilian specialists working for foreign firms.

[tomahawk]

As expected.

We cannot pin our hopes on Al Qa-Qaa on Russia.

Rather, we should be able to establish that there were only 3 tons there, and they were likely gone before we got there.

[SmithL]

Wow! I sure didn't see that coming.

[fooman]

Me doth think he protests too much.

[digger48]

Don't ya just love it when the AP covers Kerry's ass for him?

[oceanview]

let's see what Gertz has to say now.

[bubman]

Russian rogue agents disguised as "civilians" working hand in hand with french intelligence and Saddaam.

Hmm.

Plausible deniability?

[oceanview]

have there been any statements from the russians that they did move it? I haven't seen any, so unless this story is tottally fradulent, this is their statement on it.

did you really expect Putin to say: "sure, we moved it along with the Sarin gas".

[eddie willers]

Rather, we should be able to establish that there were only 3 tons there, and they were likely gone before we got there.

Bingo!

As I was saying last night, this not only reduces the problem to the absurd, its proves the Oct. 10 letter to be an out and out lie.

[Anti-Bubba182]

I see a healthy cycnicism on the thread. What would any reasonable person expect them to say?

[OXENinFLA]

Take a look at who's at the Kremlin right now....

Thu Oct 28,11:03 AM ET
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage (R) smiles as the head of the Russia's Security Council Igor Ivanov invites him to the table for negotiations in Moscow's Kremlin, October 28, 2004. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin

[aynrandfreak]

I didn't hear about any weapons to be taken out

Non-denial denial.

[hawkaw]

Rather, we should be able to establish that there were only 3 tons there, and they were likely gone before we got there.

Not quite.

Its 3 tons instead of 141 tons of a specific explosive. Therefore the UN was off by 138 tons of the specific explosive.

There is no mention about the other 236 tons of other explosvies in the confidential UN memo that ABC quoted from last night.

I still think the fact that the UN can't get their numbers straight speakes volumes.

For a source go back to last nights FR post on the ABC story or go to the Drudge site and read it there.

Hope that helps.

[Mitchell]

According to the article, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Vyacheslav Sedov said:

"I can state officially that the Russian Defense Ministry and its structures couldn't have been involved in the disappearance of the explosives, because all Russian military experts left Iraq when the international sanctions were introduced during the 1991 Gulf War.

Back in April, 2003, there was a report that two retired Russian generals named Achalov and Maltsev were running Iraqi command and control. See http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/888586/posts.

[Pete]

"I can state officially that the Russian Defense Ministry and its structures couldn't have been involved in the disappearance of the explosives, because all Russian military experts left Iraq when the international sanctions were introduced during the 1991 Gulf War (news - web sites)," he told The Associated Press.

I would imagine that if we wanted to, we could show that statement to be flat out false.

[isthisnickcool]

In related news Hans Blix dies in mysterious shark tank accident.

[Numbers Guy]

no Russian special forces in Iraq, only civilian specialists working for foreign firms.

A distinction without a difference.

[stocksthatgoup]

How did the Russian convoy on the way to Syria get hit if the Russians weren't there?

[focusandclarity]

Thanks for this, but as you write it is as "expected".
(Remember the Russians denied having missles in Cuba too!"

Read backhoe's reply :http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1259767/posts and the many other post about the here today, somehow there's got to be a "smoking gun surveillance tape" or something the Pentagon's got.

[DaveMSmith]

This is bull. As discussed last night, 9 members of a Russian embassy convoy were hit on 4/6/03 heading to Syria. They were not evacuated... they were there.